The Bank will have several new food items for you to try starting Thursday night!
The 2024 Minnesota Golden Gophers Football season is upon us. With the start of a new season at Huntington Bank Stadium also comes the chance for the wizards in the Gopher Hospitality department to whip up some new gameday food and drinks for the crowds coming to watch the games. GopherNation and myself got a chance to attend the annual new food media day last week and here is a look at what is new for this season, and some of our favorites that will will make sure to get at least once this season;
So What’s New With Food?
For the 2024 season the Gopher Hospitality Group is adding three new concession stands. three new portable stands, four new tap cocktail vending locations, and 20 beer markets. Many of these are self-service options which are designed to prioritize speed, and allow fans to return back to the game faster than before.
Hall of Favs (Section 110, 139)
This stand will be a walk-thru were fans can grab items set ut and walk to a register to check out, rather than be served. They will sell your stadium staples including hot dogs, brats, Hamburgers, Chicken Tenders, Fries, Snacks, Beer, Coca-Cola Products and Bottled Water.
Eat, Drink, Taco (Section 140)
All your Mexican cuisine favorites including tacos, Super Nachos, Burrito Bowls, and Margaritas. (Yes, you read that right—-more on that in a bit)
Walk Thru Bru’s (20 Locations)
These areas will be self-serve markets for quick beverage and snack purchases.
New Food Portables:
- Bibigo Korean Cuisine (Section 105)
- Taco in a Bag (Sectipn 129)
- Rotating “Item of the Game” (Section 141)
OK But What About the New Foods??
Glad you asked. There will be several new food items at the Bank this season.
Walking Sundae—Scoop’d (Section 117)
These sundaes are a desert version of your traditional walking taco. A bag of either mini Oreos or mini Nutter Butters opened and topped with a scoop of either vanilla or chocolate mousse, whipped cream, chocolate syrup and a cherry on top.
These are a sugar bomb, but really good. The mousse doesn’t melt which makes it good for a hot day where ice cream would be running down your arm.
Andy’s Rating: 8 out of 10
Chicken Waffle Taco—Goldy’s Grill (Section 131)
A Nordic Waffle stuffed with crispy chicken breast, hot maple syrup, Minnesota Spice, and house slaw.
I’ll be honest I didn’t care for it much. My waffle was limp and I didn’t get much of the maple syrup or “Minnesota Space”, just slaw and chicken. But I can imagine some people will really like it.
Andy’s Rating: 5 out of 10
Minny Bowls—UFFDA (Section 143)
Ski-U-Mah Bowl: Smashed Potatoes, Breaded Chicken Bites, Corn, Shredded Cheese, House Gravy
Swedish Bowl: Smashed Potatoes, Swedish Meatballs, Lingonberry Sauce
These were pretty good. The Ski-U-Mah Bowl is very similar to someone you would see at a famous chicken fast food restaurant. The Swedish Bowl takes the meatball and Lingonberry sauce from last year’s meatball sandwich and puts it over mashed potatoes. Very filling, and dense so maybe better for a cold weather game but definitely a good potential bang for your buck option. I liked the Swedish one better, but both have potential.
Andy’s Rating: Ski-U- Mah 6.5 out of 10, Swedish 7.5 out of 10
Chicken, Bacon, Boom Sandwich—Goldy’s Grill (Section 105, 131)
Crispy Chicken Breast, Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Boom Boom Sauce on a Brioche Bun
For me this all comes down to if you like the Boom Boom sauce or not, which is a slightly spicy creamy sauce. I’m not a fan, but Gopher Nation was. Otherwise it’s a perfectly good chicken sandwich.
Andy’s Rating: 5.5 out of 10 — Gopher Nation in his Top 5
Chicken Street Tacos and Buffalo Chicken Tacos—Eat, Drink Taco (Sect 140)
Chicken, Corn+ Beans Relish, Onion, Pico De Gallo, Cheese
These were good as well. A fairly easy yo eat option, chicken had a good flavor. It’s a taco. Nothing too fancy.
Andy’s Rating:7 out of 10 — Gopher Nation in his Top 5
Minnesota BBQ Dog—Links (Section 109, 140)
Hormel All Beef Hot Dog, Bacon, Honeycrisp Slaw, BBQ sauce
I’m not going to lie, this one didn’t work for me. They took a perfectly fine hot dog and loaded it up with lots of unnecessary things. The tasting version had a slice of cheese on them—not sure if that’s really how they will be served or just an extra as it’s not in the given ingredient list, and the slaw just tasted like mayo—I got zero apple flavor. But if you olove all that extra stuff you may strongly disagree.
Andy’s Rating: 4 out of 10
Italian Beef Sammy-Portable Food Cart (Section 141)
Shaved Italian Beef, Provolone, Sweet peppers or Giardiniera
This has potential. It’s currently slated to be a one off as it’s the first offering of the new “Item of the Game” stand near Section 141. The sandwich was good, but I found it a bit dry. You aren’t gonna get it fully dipped like in Chicago, but a bit of au jus or something to moisten it up a bit would go a long way.
Andy’s Rating: 6 out of 10—with au jus (8 out of 10)
Short Rib Grilled Cheese—Sizzle (Section 133)
Braised Short Rib, Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, Arugula, Texas Toast
This was a hit. Meat was great, bread was good. A classic done well.
Andy’s Rating: 9 out of 10 — Gopher Nation in his Top 5
Brisket Pho-rito and Grill Pork Bahn Mi—Lotus (Section 143)
Braised Brisket with Pho spices, cilantro, bean sprouts, rice noodles wrapped in a tortilla
Grilled pork, pickled radish, pickled carrot, cilantro, jalapeno on a baguette roll
The Bahn mi is a classic. Nothing wrong with this version, but nothing special either.
The Pho-rito though. This is a classic. It’s definitely got a bit of spice to it—high on the Minnesota spice level but nothing that will blow you away. But you might want to make sure you have a drink with this one. But yes, it works. it really really works. This one might end up being a staple.
Andy’s Rating: Pho-Rito 9.5 out of 10 — Gopher Nation in his Top 5; Bahn Mi 6 out of 10
Apple Fries—Brat Dog (West Plaza)
French fry cut granny smith apples dipped in a batter, fried, coated in cinnamon sugar and served with caramel sauce.
The absolute best thing I ate. These are amazing. The apples are still crisp, yet soft enough, the flavor is great, the sauce is a perfect pairing. Yeah, these are gonna be popular…
Andy’s Rating: 10 out of 10 — Gopher Nation in his Top 5
There will be additional new offerings in both the Club Cambria and Suites for the beautiful people as well ranging from a new Ski-U-Burger and desert options to Truffle Lobster Mac and Cheese and a breakfast Charcuterie Board.
You did say….cocktails right??
That is right, starting this season both canned ready to drink cocktails (think Jack Daniels + Ginger Ale, Stilly, etc) will be available where beers and seltzers are sold. Additionally Duck Duck Beer is now available in 16 ounce cans and will be sold throughout the stadium. But there will be four batched cocktail stands along with some available in different food stands like the margarita that will be for sale at the Bank this fall. The three cocktails that will be available at every game are:
- Bank Bomba Juice
- Minnesota Mule
- Golden Margarita
The first two cocktails are made with Grey Duck Vodka. Additionally plans are to add a Bloody Mary offering for 11AM kickoffs, and to add a special cocktail for specific games like Homecoming, etc.
The cocktails will be available in two sizes, 12 ounces in a plastic cup and 20 ounces in a souvenir retro Goldy aluminum cup. All three classic cocktails tasted good, were not watered down by any means, and are a great additional option for those who enjoy an alcoholic beverage.
So whether you want one of the new options, or you just want yourself a beer and a hot dog, there will be plenty of choices for you at all seven home games this season while the Gophers hopefully take care of business on the field!